Modern communication systems are endemic throughout modern society. The need to communicate data is pervasive, and ready access to a communication system through which to communicate is regularly required. As additional communication services become available, the need to have ready access to a communication system to communicate therethrough to effectuate the additional communication services shall likely increase.
In general, a communication system includes a set of communication stations. At least one communication station of the set forms a sending station, and at least another communication station of the set forms a receiving station. Communication data is communicated by a sending station to a receiving station by way of a communication channel. The sending station converts, if necessary, the communication data into a form to permit its communication upon the communication channel, and the receiving station includes circuitry to provide for the recovery of the informational content of the communication data delivered thereto.
A radio communication system is a communication system in which the communication channel upon which the communication data is sent is defined upon a radio link extending therebetween. The communication channels are referred to as radio channels. Because the radio channels are defined upon radio links, the conventional need to form a wireline connection between communication stations to effectuate communications therebetween is obviated.
Because wireline connections are not required to be formed between communication stations, communications are effectuable by way of a radio communication system between locations at which communications by way of a conventional wireline communication system would be inconvenient or impractical. Additionally, because no wireline connection is required to be formed with the communication stations, a radio communication system is amenable for implementation as a mobile communication system. In a mobile communication system, communication mobility is provided. That is to say, one or more of the communication stations of a mobile communication system is mobile and is not limited to operation at a fixed position.
A cellular communication system is a type of mobile communication system. The networks of various cellular communication systems have been deployed throughout large geographical areas of the populated portions of the world. A cellular communication system provides for telephonic communications, of both voice data and non-voice data. Successive generations of cellular communication systems have been developed and deployed. New-generation systems are currently being deployed and others are under development. For instance, standardization of so-called new generation (NG) systems and operating protocols are ongoing. In general, the new generation communication systems utilize digital communication techniques and communicate packet-formatted data. When packet-formatting is used, data is communicated in the form of data packets, sometimes utilizing shared communication channels.
Packet formatting protocols have also been standardized, and such protocols are used by which to format data packets that are communicated in a cellular communication system. A packet formatting protocol defines the format of a data packet. IP (Internet Protocol) formatting that is currently used is generally in conformity with a version 4 of the Internet Protocol, IPv4. A successor protocol, referred to as new generation protocol, IPng, has been standardized and is undergoing implementation. The new generation protocol is referred to as version 6, IPv6. Packet-formatted data, formatted pursuant to the IPv6 standard, is an evolutionary standard that is compatible with the IPv4 standard. IPv6-formatted data packets are of selectable lengths.
The length permitted of a data packet is limited by the maximum number of bytes of data that are permitted to be communicated in a single transmission, e.g., packet, on a communication length to a correspondent device. If a packet is transmitted that is too large to be delivered as a single packet to a correspondent device, the packet can be resent in fragmented form, i.e., as separate parts that are subsequently concatenated together. When a packet must be fragmented and retransmitted, however, increased processing loads are imposed upon entities associated with the communication of the data packet to the correspondent device. Additional problems, such as reduced throughput rates also result. To reduce the possibility that a data packet that is too large to be delivered successfully to a correspondent device, a path MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) discovery procedure is carried out. In a path MTU discovery procedure, a procedure is carried out by which a determination is made of the maximum path MTU. And, when the path MTU is determined, the data packets that are subsequently formed are selected to be of lengths that do not exceed the length of the path MTU. The path MTUs might change as a result in changes of length configurations, and the path MTUs must be re-calculated, as needed.
The path MTU discovery procedure was first used for packet communications in conventional, wireline communication systems. While the same discovery procedure is amenable for implementation in a radio communication system, the conventional path MTU discovery procedure is relatively bandwidth consumptive, a problem in a bandwidth-constrained system, such as a cellular communication system.
If a manner could be provided by which better to perform a path MTU discovery procedure, or other analogous procedure, that requires less use of radio resources, better use could be made of the limited bandwidth available in a radio communication system.
It is in light of this background information related to packet radio communication systems that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.